Texans move on after bad day

Published: Tuesday, December 09, 2003

HOUSTON (AP)  This was the Houston Texans' formula: A never-used rookie quarterback, a seldom-used rookie running back and a hobbled cornerback, all on a team that's never won consecutive games and happened to be coming off a victory.

The Jaguars added it all up for them Sunday. It came out 27-0.

"There's not a lot of positives to take away from this game," coach Dom Capers said.

The rash of injuries that has plagued the Texans (5-8) caught up to them in spades. Domanick Davis was out with a bruised right thigh and David Carr, who probably couldn't have played through a sprained right shoulder anyway, came down with a severe case of the flu Saturday night.

Carr spent Sunday night in a hospital recovering. Because he didn't get to throw before the game as planned, Texans coaches have no idea what Carr's status is for Sunday's trip to Tampa Bay.

"He'll be in (today) and we'll take him out and see what he's capable of doing then," Capers said Monday.

Tony Hollings, who had played sparingly in his first season back from the major knee surgery that prematurely ended his college career at Georgia Tech, couldn't crack Jacksonville's tough defensive front. He ran for 19 yards on 18 carries and was outgained by quarterback Dave Ragone, who scrambled for 51 yards.

In fact, Ragone's legs almost carried the ball further than his left arm threw it. He was 11-of-23 for 71 yards and an interception.

He didn't need to see the stat sheet to know his NFL debut wasn't rosy.

"The biggest critics are in my family, telling me, 'You could have done this here or there,' and I appreciate that," Ragone said. "But I was happy to have my dad and mom see me out there."

On the bright side, Ragone became the first Texans quarterback to catch his own pass, taking a 5-yard loss after he pulled down a batted ball.

The parade of injuries continued. Cornerback Aaron Glenn, who pulled his groin when the Texans beat Jacksonville 24-20 in September and hasn't been the same since, left early when he aggravated the injury and likely will miss the game at Tampa Bay.

Outside linebacker Charlie Clemons, who never impressed as a free agent pickup hired to apply a pass-rush, had his injury-filled season end Monday.

The Texans placed him on injured reserve with a strained ligament in his left ankle.

Davis, however, is expected to be ready for the Buccaneers, giving Capers a little more comfort after a bad day in Florida that sent Houston to 0-9 after a victory.

"Every man has to ask himself what to do to make sure this doesn't happen again," Capers said.

Not that the Texans were holding onto realistic playoff hopes, but the loss officially eliminated them from the race. If Denver and Miami were to lose three straight and the Texans were to win out and all three were the top contenders for the final wild card at 8-8, both the Broncos and Dolphins would win the tiebreaker because they have better AFC records than the Texans.